Scottish Executive

Bridges

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what levels of traffic were experienced on the Forth Road Bridge in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000 and (e) 2001.

Lewis Macdonald: The levels of traffic experienced on the Forth Road Bridge, expressed as northbound traffic are as follows:

  


1997-98 
  

10,538,940 
  



1998-99 
  

10,390,699 
  



1999-2000 
  

10,933,567 
  



2000-01 
  

11,084,253 
  



2001-02 
  

11,303,629

Debt Management

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with its pilot debtline in Fife.

Iain Gray: The debtline pilot in Fife is part of a joint pilot led by the Department of Trade and Industry. The Fife pilot was launched by myself in Kirkcaldy on 22 March 2002.

Digital Inclusion

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its news release SE5621/2002 on 28 March 2002, what criteria it used to select the winners in its Digital Communities initiative.

Iain Gray: There was strong interest in the Digital Communities initiative with 29 local authorities submitting a bid by the closing date of 30 November 2001. Bids were assessed against a range of criteria - including compatibility with digital inclusion objectives; overall vision; levels of disadvantage in the community; confidence in ability to deliver; community involvement; long-term sustainability; scale of expected benefits to community and individuals; economic development potential; degree of partnership, and value for money.

Digital Technology

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether software which helps prevent young people from viewing potentially harmful or adult material on the web, as developed by the Internet Content Rating Association, will be installed on all computers in public places and whether it will assist in advertising this software to parents for installation on home computers.

Cathy Jamieson: The Executive will continue to give support and priority to initiatives which afford greater protection to children and young people, including those which raise public awareness and promote safer use of the internet. There is a range of web content filtering software available and many computers in public places already have this installed. It is planned that content filtering software will be provided in all of the 1,000 locations where new facilities for public access to the web are currently being created by Digital Scotland.

Domestic Abuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to increase the number of convictions for offences relating to domestic abuse and what changes are being implemented by the police in the way they investigate and gather evidence and by prosecutors fiscal in respect of the evidence they request from the police and the way they structure their cases.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive is committed to raising awareness about domestic abuse, improving information about the scale and nature of the problem and ensuring that victims get the protection and support they need. This is being achieved through the implementation of the Action Plan in the National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland . Raising awareness in this way is designed to encourage the reporting of domestic abuse.

  As regards the criminal justice system, the Prosecution Code sets out the legal, evidential and public interest criteria which apply to all cases, including domestic abuse, and which are taken into account in considering the actions to be taken in relation to a report of a crime. The prosecution views allegations of domestic abuse seriously and where a report alleging such abuse is submitted to the procurator fiscal, the allegation is fully and thoroughly investigated.

Economy

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-19339, S1W-19397, S1W-23505 and S1W-24227 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 26 November 2001, 11 January, 12 March and 2 April 2002 respectively, whether it is its policy not to assess any impact on the economy of decisions taken by Her Majesty's Government in relation to matters reserved to that government; if not, whether any such assessments have been undertaken and what the outcomes were since 1 November 2001.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive constantly monitors the impact upon the Scottish economy of major policy decisions made by both the UK Government and Scottish Parliament. It also takes account in a similar fashion of relevant European directives at an appropriate stage in their development.

Environment

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will release details of the action programme measures that must be followed by farmers in the Nitrate Vulnerable Zones as proposed in Protection of Scotland’s Water Environment – Consultation on Further Scottish Nitrate Vulnerable Zones .

Ross Finnie: A consultation paper on proposals for action programmes will be released today. Arrangements have been made for copies to go directly to farmers in the proposed Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs).

  Our rivers, lochs and coasts are, I think, one of our best national assets, if not the best. By and large they are of excellent or good quality. We all have a duty of care for this environment and we must address the problem of nitrate lost from agriculture, which can affect the quality of our drinking water supplies, and presents a risk to the ecological balance in our rivers and the sea.

  It is in the common interest of farmers and the general public to find practical ways of tackling the problem. For example, losses of nitrate from agricultural land also represent an economic loss to farmers - controlled application and use of the nitrogen supplied in fertilisers and manures will reduce fertiliser costs and nitrate pollution. Good agricultural practice is good for the environment. Many farmers recognise this, but all farmers in areas vulnerable to nitrate pollution must take action to deal with this type of diffuse pollution.

  When the NVZs have been agreed we will work closely with farmers and other stakeholders to ensure that the proposed action programmes take farming industries needs into account whilst delivering the appropriate level of environmental protection.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S1W-23629 by Ross Finnie on 15 March 2002, how many of the 70 fishing vessels whose owners have had decommissioning plans accepted will be (a) scrapped (b) permanently re-assigned for a purpose other than fishing and (c) permanently reassigned to a third country as referred to in Article 7 of European Council Regulation 2792/1999.

Ross Finnie: All 70 vessels will be scrapped.

Fisheries

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans exist to replace existing large Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency vessels in the near future and when a decision will be made on this issue.

Ross Finnie: A contract has already been awarded by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency to replace its oldest Offshore Patrol Vessel Westra in June 2003. Thereafter, the agency will consider the replacement programme for its other vessels.

Gaelic

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has estimated the cost of introducing a Gaelic Language Bill similar to the Welsh Language Act 1993.

Mike Watson: The cost would depend on how the provisions in it were to be implemented.

Genealogy

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S1W-23592 by Mike Watson on 15 March 2002, how much funding is allocated specifically to the development of the non-marketing aspects of genealogy tourism.

Mike Watson: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. However, Scottish Enterprise have told me that they will allocate a minimum of £30,000 in the current financial year. Highlands and Islands Enterprise have no specific budget for genealogy related activity, but anticipate that some projects will receive support.

Genealogy

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates the tourism niche market of genealogy is currently worth annually to each area tourist board area.

Mike Watson: The information requested is not held centrally.

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17784 by Jackie Baillie on 21 September 2001, when it expects the working group on the withdrawal of Section 54 grants to report.

Iain Gray: I have asked Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

  The working group has advised me that they expect to report by 26 April 2002 on whether withdrawal of the subsidy might jeopardise the viability of individual RSLs or lead to problems in their making adequate provision for future repairs.

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what rates of interest are currently being obtained by housing associations expressed as margins over the London InterBank Offered Rate or bank base rates.

Iain Gray: The margins achieved by housing associations in the period October 2000 to September 2001 ranged from –0.4% to 1.5%, the median being 0.75%.

Lifelong Learning

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Real Learning Centres are now open in libraries.

Dr Elaine Murray: Real Learning is a brand name created by the key providers for learning in Glasgow (Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise Glasgow and other partners). I understand that at present there are 15 Real Learning Centres open at various locations in the city, with the possibility of a further eight being opened in the next few weeks.

Local Government Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what amount of capital receipts from the disposal of housing assets was set aside by local authorities to repay debts in each of the financial years from 1997-98 to 2001-02, expressed in real terms and broken down by local authority.

Iain Gray: The amount of capital receipts from the disposal of housing assets set aside by local authorities to repay debt in the years 1997-98 to 2001-02 are set out, in both actual and real terms, in the following tables.

  Amounts received as result of housing capital set aside rules £ million (Actual)

  


 


1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

10.50 
  

10.52 
  

10.57 
  

9.10 
  

7.79 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

6.73 
  

4.26 
  

5.25 
  

6.58 
  

5.113 
  



Angus 
  

3.79 
  

2.59 
  

2.84 
  

3.25 
  

2.316 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

2.08 
  

1.80 
  

1.91 
  

1.66 
  

1.88 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

1.53 
  

1.48 
  

1.47 
  

1.39 
  

1.957 
  



Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 
  

0.43 
  

0.54 
  

0.35 
  

0.40 
  

0.34 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

5.09 
  

3.28 
  

4.14 
  

4.23 
  

4.25 
  



Dundee City 
  

3.48 
  

3.21 
  

2.62 
  

2.86 
  

2.45 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

4.92 
  

4.15 
  

5.12 
  

5.28 
  

4.75 
  



E. Dunbartonshire 
  

1.85 
  

2.46 
  

2.64 
  

2.33 
  

2.28 
  



East Lothian 
  

3.78 
  

2.17 
  

3.57 
  

5.65 
  

4.87 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

1.23 
  

1.12 
  

1.18 
  

1.54 
  

1.59 
  



City of Edinburgh 
  

8.71 
  

8.46 
  

7.97 
  

8.48 
  

8.43 
  



Falkirk 
  

6.50 
  

5.13 
  

5.08 
  

6.44 
  

6.78 
  



Fife 
  

10.02 
  

8.59 
  

10.10 
  

8.87 
  

10.42 
  



Glasgow City 
  

18.85 
  

15.91 
  

18.15 
  

19.51 
  

19.42 
  



Highland 
  

8.68 
  

7.41 
  

9.05 
  

8.17 
  

8.22 
  



Inverclyde 
  

4.50 
  

3.19 
  

3.38 
  

3.56 
  

2.30 
  



Midlothian 
  

2.89 
  

2.45 
  

3.19 
  

3.08 
  

3.45 
  



Moray 
  

2.82 
  

1.88 
  

2.44 
  

1.89 
  

2.02 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

3.93 
  

3.33 
  

4.67 
  

4.20 
  

4.48 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

15.26 
  

14.22 
  

15.56 
  

16.73 
  

14.45 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

0.57 
  

0.55 
  

0.83 
  

0.34 
  

0.30 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

3.38 
  

2.53 
  

3.26 
  

2.37 
  

2.84 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

5.63 
  

5.24 
  

4.81 
  

5.13 
  

6.73 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

3.85 
  

2.97 
  

2.55 
  

3.58 
  

2.64 
  



Shetland 
  

1.08 
  

0.74 
  

1.67 
  

1.35 
  

1.20 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

3.84 
  

3.44 
  

3.32 
  

2.47 
  

2.98 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

13.57 
  

14.09 
  

13.39 
  

12.14 
  

10.20 
  



Stirling 
  

2.89 
  

2.61 
  

2.84 
  

3.03 
  

3.47 
  



W. Dunbartonshire 
  

2.53 
  

2.75 
  

1.07 
  

2.10 
  

2.10 
  



West Lothian 
  

7.05 
  

5.32 
  

6.05 
  

5.02 
  

6.81 
  



Total 
  

171.95 
  

148.38 
  

161.02 
  

162.73 
  

158.8 
  



  Source: For financial years 1996-97 to 2000-01: as reported by authorities on the Housing Revenue Account Certificate of Capital Payments and Receipts.

  Note:

  Figures for 2001-02 are estimates taken from quarterly Housing Capital Monitoring form.

  Amounts received as result of housing capital set aside rules £ million (Real Terms)

  


 


1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

11.53 
  

11.24 
  

11.02 
  

9.33 
  

7.79 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

7.39 
  

4.55 
  

5.48 
  

6.74 
  

5.113 
  



Angus 
  

4.16 
  

2.76 
  

2.96 
  

3.33 
  

2.316 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

2.28 
  

1.92 
  

1.99 
  

1.70 
  

1.88 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

1.68 
  

1.58 
  

1.53 
  

1.42 
  

1.957 
  



Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 
  

0.47 
  

0.58 
  

0.37 
  

0.41 
  

0.34 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

5.59 
  

3.51 
  

4.32 
  

4.34 
  

4.25 
  



Dundee City 
  

3.82 
  

3.43 
  

2.73 
  

2.93 
  

2.45 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

5.41 
  

4.43 
  

5.34 
  

5.41 
  

4.75 
  



E. Dunbartonshire 
  

2.03 
  

2.62 
  

2.75 
  

2.39 
  

2.28 
  



East Lothian 
  

4.15 
  

2.32 
  

3.72 
  

5.79 
  

4.87 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

1.35 
  

1.19 
  

1.23 
  

1.58 
  

1.59 
  



City of Edinburgh 
  

9.57 
  

9.04 
  

8.31 
  

8.69 
  

8.43 
  



Falkirk 
  

7.14 
  

5.48 
  

5.30 
  

6.61 
  

6.78 
  



Fife 
  

11.00 
  

9.18 
  

10.54 
  

9.10 
  

10.42 
  



Glasgow City 
  

20.70 
  

17.00 
  

18.93 
  

19.99 
  

19.42 
  



Highland 
  

9.53 
  

7.91 
  

9.43 
  

8.38 
  

8.22 
  



Inverclyde 
  

4.94 
  

3.41 
  

3.52 
  

3.65 
  

2.30 
  



Midlothian 
  

3.18 
  

2.61 
  

3.33 
  

3.16 
  

3.45 
  



Moray 
  

3.09 
  

2.01 
  

2.54 
  

1.94 
  

2.02 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

4.31 
  

3.56 
  

4.87 
  

4.30 
  

4.48 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

16.75 
  

15.18 
  

16.22 
  

17.15 
  

14.45 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

0.62 
  

0.59 
  

0.87 
  

0.35 
  

0.30 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

3.71 
  

2.70 
  

3.40 
  

2.42 
  

2.84 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

6.18 
  

5.60 
  

5.02 
  

5.26 
  

6.73 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

4.23 
  

3.17 
  

2.65 
  

3.67 
  

2.64 
  



Shetland 
  

1.19 
  

0.78 
  

1.74 
  

1.39 
  

1.20 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

4.22 
  

3.68 
  

3.46 
  

2.54 
  

2.98 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

14.90 
  

15.05 
  

13.96 
  

12.45 
  

10.20 
  



Stirling 
  

3.17 
  

2.79 
  

2.96 
  

3.10 
  

3.47 
  



W. Dunbartonshire 
  

2.78 
  

2.94 
  

1.11 
  

2.15 
  

2.10 
  



West Lothian 
  

7.74 
  

5.68 
  

6.31 
  

5.15 
  

6.81 
  



Total 
  

188.80 
  

158.47 
  

167.94 
  

166.80 
  

158.8 
  



  Source: For financial years 1996-97 to 2000-01 as reported by authorities on the Housing Revenue Account Certificate of Capital Payments and Receipts.

  Notes:

  Figures for 2001-02 are estimates taken from quarterly Housing Capital Monitoring form.

  Real terms calculated using HM Treasury GDP Deflators with 2001-02 as base year.

National Lottery Funding

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each parliamentary constituency received in lottery funding in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Dr Elaine Murray: The information requested is given in the document PQ S1W-24395: Lottery Funds to Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies for Years - 1999/2000, 2000/2001, 2001/2002 , a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 20579).

Pensioners

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty's Government through the Inter-Departmental Group on Older People to reduce the housing benefit taper which requires to pay 65p in every pound earned from occupational or private pensions over the income support level towards their rent and what assessment it has made of the impact on poverty levels among older people such a change may have.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with UK Government ministers and departments on a wide range of issues, including housing benefit. It is for the Department for Work and Pensions to assess the impact of any possible changes to the housing benefit taper.

Physical Education

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the New Opportunities for PE and Sport in Schools fund announced on 19 March 2002 will include support for measures to improve swimming lessons for school children and encourage their provision.

Dr Elaine Murray: Under the New Opportunities for PE and Sport in Schools fund, announced on 19 March, up to £21.75 million will be committed throughout Scotland to support out of school hours programmes, organised through schools, which offer children and young people a wide range of sporting and cultural activities.

  Each local authority has been given a provisional allocation to fund these activities from the spring of 2003. Swimming lessons for children and young people aged five to 16 could be funded, provided they meet programme priorities, eligibility and assessment criteria.

Planning

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Historic Scotland has had any input into the proposed road and development outside Caroline Park House, Granton, Edinburgh.

Dr Elaine Murray: I have asked Graeme Munro, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland to answer. His response is as follows:

  Planning authorities are statutorily required to consult Scottish ministers before determining applications for planning permission for development which may affect a category A listed building or its setting. Historic Scotland, which is responsible to ministers for matters affecting Scotland’s built heritage, handles such requests for comments from planning authorities.

  The planning authority, the City of Edinburgh Council, has sought and received both formal and informal comments from the Historic Buildings Inspectorate within Historic Scotland on the proposed developments adjacent to category A listed Caroline Park House. The Inspectorate has also been invited by the council to participate in meetings with various parties to discuss these developments and the associated road system. This close contact between the council and the Inspectorate is expected to continue until the council determines the application.

Post Offices

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been received from Her Majesty’s Government towards the support of post offices in deprived urban areas and how much it has spent on such post offices.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its news release SE1903/2000 of 28 June 2000, what role it has played in the allocation and distribution of funding for post offices in deprived urban areas; how much funding has been made available; whether any further funding will be made available and, if so, (a) when, (b) by whom and (c) on what criteria such funding (i) was or (ii) will be distributed.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive’s Assigned Budget was increased by £1.5 million as a formula consequential, reflecting the funds set aside in England to support post offices in deprived urban areas. Decisions on the use of the Assigned Budget are devolved. Ministers continue to examine the scope for providing support to post offices in deprived urban areas in Scotland. However, no funding has yet been committed.

Pre-School Education

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18396 by Mr Jack McConnell on 18 October 2001, which local authorities currently provide pre-school education for the children of asylum seekers and refugees.

Cathy Jamieson: The position of children of asylum seekers and refugees, as regards provision in pre-school education, is the same as for any other child of pre-school age resident in a local authority area. Prior to 1 April 2002, local authorities had the power to provide nursery education for all such children whose parents wish it and from that date are under a duty to do so. As the provision is not compulsory and claims are made on a numerical basis, information relating to asylum seekers provided with pre-school education is not available centrally.

  I can, however, confirm that asylum seekers are resident in the following authorities:

  Aberdeen City

  Aberdeenshire

  Dumfries and Galloway

  Dundee City

  East Ayrshire

  East Dunbartonshire

  East Lothian

  East Renfrewshire

  City of Edinburgh,

  Falkirk

  Fife

  Glasgow City

  Inverclyde

  North Ayrshire

  North Lanarkshire

  Renfrewshire

  Stirling

  West Lothian.

Pre-School Education

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18396 by Mr Jack McConnell on 18 October 2001, how much additional funding is being provided to local authorities to provide pre-school education for the children of asylum seekers and refugees.

Cathy Jamieson: Resources amounting to £137 million were made available in financial year 2001-02 to meet the commitment to provide free part-time pre-school education for eligible children whose parents wish it. As far as pre-school education is concerned, children of asylum seekers and refugees are treated in the same way as children born in this country and, as such, would have formed an element of the total number of children for whom grant was claimed. The significant resources available, proved to be sufficient to meet the total level of claims for pre-school education in financial year 2001-02.

Prison Service

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many short-term sex offenders have been released from HM Prison Edinburgh in each month since September 2001.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  


September 
  

1 
  



October 
  

4 
  



November 
  

2 
  



December 
  

3 
  



January 
  

5 
  



February 
  

4

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15440 by Sarah Boyack on 11 May 2001, whether the cost of the M74 northern extension will still be allocated in the same proportions as indicated in that answer; whether a procurement method for the project has been selected; what the latest estimated cost of the project is, and what the projected date is for the commencement of the project.

Lewis Macdonald: The cost of the project is still allocated in the same proportions as indicated in answer to question S1W-15440. The procurement method has still to be decided. The current estimated cost of the project is £245 million (at May 2000 prices). These costs exclude design costs and VAT if applicable. Construction of the scheme is projected to start in autumn 2005.

Schools

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Stirling Council in regard to its plans for Doune Primary School.

Nicol Stephen: None.

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown will continue to rely on the expert testimony of the four Scottish Criminal Record Office fingerprint experts directly involved in the McKie and Asbury cases or whether any conditions have been placed upon the evaluation of such testimony.

Colin Boyd QC: The Crown's position in relation to this matter is still under consideration and the matter is being discussed with the Scottish Criminal Record Office.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of publishing, printing and distributing Scotland’s Bathing Waters: A strategy for improvement .

Allan Wilson: Two thousand copies of the bathing water strategy were printed. The costs of printing and publishing, including website conversion, were £2,314.46.

  We are still distributing copies of the strategy on request. However, the main bulk of distribution was carried out immediately the strategy became available, at a cost of around £50.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of publishing, printing and distributing Water Supplies in Public Buildings: A Consultation .

Ross Finnie: The total cost was £1,627.52.

  A breakdown of the costs is as follows:

  Print costs - £1,332.75

  Distribution - £85.78

  Website conversion - £208.99.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of publishing, printing and distributing  Scottish Economic Statistics 2002 .

Mr Andy Kerr: The total cost of publishing Scottish Economic Statistics 2002 was £18,468.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of publishing, printing and distributing The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive 2003-04 , including both the summary and detail booklets.

Mr Andy Kerr: The costs of publishing, printing and distribution of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive for both the summary and detail documents are set out as follows:

  


£ 
  

Publishing 
  

Printing 
  

Distribution 
  



Summary Document 
  

7,467.82* 
  

9,087.00 
  

700.00*** 
  



Detail Document 
  

1,842.00** 
  

8,695.00 
  
 



  Notes:

  *Includes £1,489.00 for web conversion.

  **Includes £405.00 for web conversion.

  ***Estimate of costs of distribution for both documents.

Scottish Executive Staff

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, officials in its Personnel Division are members of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are currently 38 members of staff in the Directorate of Personnel and Pay who are members of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. This represents some 25% of the 155 staff currently employed.

Scottish Women's Consultative Forum

Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Women’s Consultative Forum last met and what matters were discussed.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Women in Scotland Consultative Forum (WiSCF) last met on 15 May 2000. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the World Conference on Women’s Rights held in Beijing in 1995 and address the topics raised in the Platform for Action. A smaller group the Women in Scotland Consultative Review Group met on 26 April 2001 to discuss the future role of the forum. It was agreed to work with Engender and Glasgow Women’s Library to develop the WiSCF database and to develop local fora across Scotland. An event has already been held in Glenrothes Fife which was the culmination of a pilot project set up as part of the review. A programme of events based in different communities and areas are being planned during the summer.

Sheltered Housing

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties were converted into sheltered housing complexes by local authorities in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001.

Iain Gray: The numbers of dwellings converted into sheltered housing in the years 1999-2000 to 2001-02 are shown in the following table.

  





1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Conversions 
  

Very sheltered 
  

Sheltered 
  

Very sheltered 
  

Sheltered 
  

Very sheltered 
  

Sheltered 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

0 
  

72 
  

0 
  

88 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Angus 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

0 
  

20 
  

0 
  

15 
  

0 
  

17 
  



Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

N/A 
  

N/A 
  



Dundee City 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

154 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



E. Dunbartonshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



East Lothian 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



City of Edinburgh 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

285 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Falkirk 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Fife 
  

0 
  

1,320 
  

0 
  

85 
  

0 
  

2 
  



Glasgow City 
  

64 
  

0 
  

60 
  

0 
  

60 
  

0 
  



Highland 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

29 
  



Inverclyde 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

N/A 
  

N/A 
  



Midlothian 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Moray 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

0 
  

30 
  

0 
  

20 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

0 
  

31 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Shetland 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

N/A 
  

N/A 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

N/A 
  

N/A 
  



Stirling 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

N/A 
  

N/A 
  



W. Dunbartonshire 
  

0 
  

7 
  

0 
  

2 
  

0 
  

0 
  



West Lothian 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Scotland 
  

64 
  

1,480 
  

61 
  

495 
  

60 
  

202 
  



  Source: Housing Capital Programme 1999-2000 to 2001-02.

Single European Currency

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to prepare its departments for the possible introduction of the euro.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive took the first steps in 1999 to prepare its departments for the possibility of the UK adopting the euro. Finance staff visited key contacts within the Scottish Executive, in the NHS in Scotland, and in a selection of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), to raise awareness of the consequences of any decision to switch from sterling to the euro. This exercise was updated in late 2001.

  One conclusion was that consistent with the Prime Minister's statement to the House of Commons when launching the first Outline National Changeover Plan in 1999, where computer systems are being upgraded, all Scottish Executive departments will build in euro compatibility where that represents value for money. The Scottish Executive has already taken action in this regard, in the recent exercise to replace the core finance system which now has dual currency functionality. This feature would help to ensure that any changeover to the euro was smooth and cost-effective.

  Further information on the Scottish Executive’s preparations for the possibility of the UK joining Economic and Monetary Union can be found in the detailed response made by the Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning to the Convener of the Scottish Parliament European Committee on 11 January 2002. That response has been placed with the Parliament’s Reference Centre and on the Scottish Executive website. Paragraph 21 of the reply refers to the Scottish Executive’s own systems.

Single European Currency

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it was last represented on the joint central/local government working group set up by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to consider the possible introduction of the euro and what progress affecting Scotland has been made by the group.

Mr Andy Kerr: COSLA represents Scottish interests on the group.